Murray produced an admirable display in Sunday's final against Roger Federer, which saw him take the first set in impressive fashion. He eventually lost in four, but can take plenty of consolation in the fact he lost to the widely acknowledged greatest player in the history of the sport.

The immediate aftermath to the final saw Murray deliver a tearful address to the crowd, but he was rather more measured when attending his media duties later in the day. Always one to take inspiration from other top sportsmen, the British No. 1 once again turned to LeBron James, admitting he needs to follow the basketball star's lead in ending his "nightmare" sequence of hard-luck stories.

"When you lose, it's hard. It's tough to take but you need to try and show strength of character to come back from it. Hopefully, one day, you get there," Murray said.

"Sometimes guys take much longer than others. I received some good-luck messages from the NBA player LeBron James.

"He said after he lost in the NBA finals last year that he's having to go through lots of nightmares before reaching his dream.

"To me, I'm in a similar situation right now."

The suggestion was put to Murray that, with Rafael Nadal exiting his side of the draw early, 2012 might have been the best chance he will ever get to win the tournament. Showing his dry humour, Murray raised an eyebrow at the possibility that beating the game's greatest player could be his best opportunity.

"Was it my best chance? I don't know. It was my first time being in a final," he said. "You know, it was good to get there.

"I lost to a guy that's now won this tournament seven times and is No. 1 in the world. So if that's your best chance, then...

"We're talking about one of the greatest athletes of all time here, like we were saying. You've got to put it in context a little bit."